We picked up our hire car soon after 8am and were in the Cotswolds by 10.30am. It was an overcast day, but dry, and our rumbling stomachs (or "Rumblin Tums", to use the name of one restaurant that we passed along the way) dictated that our first stop was Burford, "The Gateway to the Cotswolds" (unfortunately, I have just accidentally deleted the photo that I took of Burford, so you'll just have to take my word for it!). We had [a pretty ordinary] breakfast at a cosy little restaurant in Burford, and then browsed the various art and craft and antique shops along the high street. It was then back in the car, and we took our time meandering through the Cotswolds countryside, with a stop at Stow-on-the-Wold, where we browsed more antique shops and the tourist information centre (where I purchased a book called "40 Great Cotswold Pubs", which, as you will see as you read on, would prove to be invaluable!).
Stow-on-the-Wold
We then had a late [and delicious] pub lunch at the Horse and Groom Village Inn (http://www.horseandgroom.uk.com/home.php), in the village of Oddington, before making our way to our accommodation for the weekend, the Mill House Hotel (http://www.millhousehotel.co.uk). It was a nice little hotel, set in 10 acres of gardens, and just outside the village of Kingham. 
The Mill House Hotel
The view from our room at the Mill House Hotel
Our room at the Mill House Hotel
Cat cartwheeling at the Mill House Hotel
Cat climbing a tree at the Mill House Hotel
After dumping our bags in our room, we headed off on a walk to the next village, Churchill, which was a couple of miles away. It was a really fantastic walk - partly along the gently winding road between the two villages, and partly through the fields.
Views along the walk between Kingham and Churchill
Cat on the swings in Kingham
Cat walking through the fields between Kingham and Churchill
Cat on the swings in Churchill
Cat with a new friend in Churchill
Cat seeming undaunted by the warning of farm livestock
Cat daunted by farm livestock
We had a [delicious] 3 course dinner at the hotel that night.
Sunday, 27 May 2007
We had breakfast at the hotel and then spent the morning meandering through the north Cotswold countryside. Unfortunately, the rains had arrived overnight (and would not abate until we were back in London), but if you're going to be anywhere when it's raining, then you could do much worse than being in a well-heated car meandering through the Cotswold countryside - taking refuge in cosy little pubs along the way, with wood fires blazing. We passed through postcard village after postcard village, as well as the more substantial market towns of Moreton-on-Marsh, Chipping Campden and Chipping Norton. Our favourite village was unquestionably the village of Blockley, and we are already thinking of returning there for Christmas with Doug and Helen.
Blockley
Chipping Campden
Broadway
Broadway Tower
We drove through Stratford-upon-Avon, and up to Warwick in the hope of visiting Warwick Castle, but given the heavy rain, we couldn't justify paying the admission price of 17 pounds per visitor, so we headed back to our hotel. We returned to the hotel at about 5pm, and had a bit of a rest in our room before heading out for a [delicious] pub dinner at The Kings Head Inn (http://www.kingsheadinn.net), in the nearby village of Bledington. It was a particularly warm and cosy pub - made to feel even more so by the very cold, wet and windy conditions outside. I managed to leave the car's lights on while we were at dinner... but fortunately the car started first time when we left the pub a couple of hours later. Could have been a disaster...
Monday, 28 May 2007
We attempted to have breakfast at the hotel, but they were woefully understaffed, and in the end we decided to cut our losses and have breakfast on the road. We checked out and headed for the beautiful town of Bourton-on-the-Water, where we had a [delicious] scone breakfast.
Bourton-on-the-Water
Cat, thrilled to be having her photo taken outside this store in Bourton-on-the-Water
While in Bourton-on-the-Water, we were lucky enough to stumble across the town's annual duck race. People draw numbered plastic ducks out of a container, the ducks' numbers and their owner's names are recorded, and once all ducks have been allocated an owner, they are dropped into the river that runs through the town. The winner is the person who's duck is the first duck to cross the finish line about 100m downstream. Naturally, Cat and I each invested a duck, and Cat's was in 2nd place for a good portion of the race (mine did not trouble the leaders), but the race was ultimately won by a run away duck, who finished about 10m in front of the chasing pack (quite a margin, given the size of the competitors).
And they're racing...
Mid race
The run away winner
We contemplated going to see the famous cheeserolling race near Gloucester, but there was a lot of traffic headed that way, and so we opted to visit Gloucester Cathedral instead, which was very impressive.
Gloucester Cathedral
We then had the last of our Cotswold meals - a late [delicious] pub lunch at the Fosse Bridge Inn (http://www.fossebridgeinn.co.uk) - "40 Great Cotswold Pubs" therefore finished with a perfect strike rate of 4 from 4.
We then headed back to London, having had a really fantastic few days away.
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